The Oak Laboratory, located in Pallet Town, is a beautiful place with picturesque landscapes.
In the afternoon, when Natsui knocked on the door of the Oak Laboratory, this kind old man with short, gray hair, who occasionally liked to recite Pokémon senryūs, showed him a warm and generous smile.
"Professor Oak, sorry for the intrusion." Natsui introduced himself. "I'm Natsui, from the Sakuragi Laboratory in Cerulean City. Professor Sakuragi asked me to deliver something to you."
Professor Oak nodded. "Cerezo already told me you would come, but I didn't expect you to arrive here from Cerulean City in just two days. What speed!"
"Naturally, I wouldn't dare delay an errand from Professor Sakuragi." Natsui first handed over the box containing the prototype to Professor Oak, and then took out the package the shopkeeper from Viridian City had given him.
Upon seeing the package, Professor Oak said joyfully, "You even brought this package with you? You've done me a great favor! Tomorrow is the day the new group of trainers leaves, and without these Poké Balls, I wouldn't know what to do."
Natsui casually said, "At this time of year, I imagine you're very busy, right, Professor? It must be exhausting."
"Yes, yes, when you get older, you can't help but admit it," Professor Oak shrugged. "But this year, my grandson, that hopeless case, is also starting his journey. I'm really curious to see what kind of person he becomes."
"A hopeless case?"
Natsui asked, "Are you talking about Gary?"
"Oh?" Professor Oak said, surprised. "You know Gary?"
"No, I don't know him." Natsui waved his hand quickly. "I just overheard Professor Sakuragi mention him by chance."
However, even though he said that, Natsui couldn't help but feel a great excitement.
Gary is going to start his journey tomorrow?
That means Ash, his contemporary, is also about to begin his own adventure with Pikachu!
I'm excited to meet them, but I also need to hurry. Otherwise, with their pace of growth, they'll soon surpass me, and I'll be left behind!
After declining Professor Oak's invitation to lunch, Natsui headed back toward Viridian City.
And as he passed through Viridian City, since he was no longer in a hurry, this time Natsui decided to head straight into the Viridian Forest.
The Viridian Forest, located between Viridian City and Pewter City, is densely populated with a wide variety of trees, forming a natural maze. Even with a map, countless people get lost every year in this vast forest where light barely penetrates.
Here, the most common Pokémon are Bug and Flying types, and due to the wide variety, some call it the Bug Catcher's paradise.
As Natsui entered the forest, he moved guided by his intuition, defeating many Pokémon that attacked him by surprise. He also encountered a Pidgeotto and a Butterfree, Pokémon he had liked in the past, but after a moment of hesitation, he decided not to try to capture them.
As for his four Pokémon, they also trained in this forest, and all, to some extent, made a bit of progress.
After walking for a while, a bush ahead started moving. Just when Natsui thought another Pokémon was about to attack him, a young samurai in armor, with a net on his back and a long sword at his waist, jumped out from between the bushes.
"Tsk, from the noise, I thought it was a rare Pokémon, but it's just a trainer." The young samurai looked at Natsui's Pokémon. "What do you say? Feel like a battle?"
Natsui was stunned. "Huh? Just like that?"
"Of course! Being a Pokémon Trainer means that when our eyes meet, a battle starts!" With that, and without caring whether Natsui agreed or not, the young samurai threw his Poké Ball. "Go, Pinsir!"
The Poké Ball opened, and a fierce-looking Pokémon with two large sharp horns, resembling a stag beetle, appeared before Natsui.
Pokédex: "Bip. Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokémon. Bug type. It has two powerful horns. Once it catches its prey, it won't let go until it has torn it in two."
"No choice." Natsui sighed and looked over at his four Pokémon. "Squirtle, it's your turn."
As for types, both Bulbasaur, a Grass type, and Kirlia, a Psychic type, would be at a disadvantage against Pinsir, a Bug type. Only Eevee and Squirtle had no type advantage or disadvantage against Pinsir.
"Squirtle, Squirtle!"
Squirtle jumped to the center, its eyes full of fighting spirit.
But just when Natsui thought it would be a tough battle, he saw Squirtle only needed a few moves to win the battle cleanly and quickly.
"What?!" The young samurai exclaimed in disbelief. "My Pinsir was defeated so quickly?!"
"It's not that strange," Natsui sighed. "It's because your... well... your Pinsir is too low level. If you get the chance, I suggest you train it a lot more."
The young samurai's face turned red, and he clenched his fists. "Damn it, don't celebrate too soon! Watch my second Pokémon! Go, Caterpie!"
A flash of red light passed, and the young samurai sent out his second Pokémon.
Ah, it's Rayquaza's offspring, oh no, it's a Caterpie!
Caterpie is a typical Bug type Pokémon. Its back is green, its belly is white, and its most distinctive feature is the red Y-shaped antenna on its head.
Pokédex: "Bip. Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Bug type. It uses the suckers on its feet to climb trees and nibble on the leaves it likes."
Natsui, not wanting to change Pokémon, continued with Squirtle, and with a few clean and quick moves, he once again easily defeated this Caterpie.
Seeing the young samurai's frustrated expression, Natsui was about to leave when, suddenly, he seemed to remember something, stopped, and turned around to say, "Oh, by the way, I come from Pallet Town. If you're not happy, hurry up and get stronger, and give a good lesson to the rookie trainers who come after me."
The young samurai muttered, "Pallet Town? Rookie trainers?"
"That's right." Natsui nodded slightly, a mischievous smile on his face. "The trainers from Pallet Town are all very strong. I'm sure that, no matter who you meet, you won't be a match for them."
"Damn it! Don't get too cocky!" The young samurai, with a determined look, shouted at Natsui's disappearing back. "Remember my words! No matter how strong Pallet Town trainers are, next time, you'll find out what a comb is worth!"